RJ03 - Describe the inquiry activity you will use for your informal assessment review. Explain what science practice(s) it will teach and how you plan to assess them.
For my informal assessment, I am using an inquiry activity that I 'NeCaped' to give students practice with these types of assignments. This is the first time that the students are seeing this format, so they will need a lot of instruction on the format to perform successfully on this activity. The inquiry activity is given to the students at the beginning of the Forces unit. Before this point, students have to knowledge of this topic other than any prior knowledge they may have obtained. The activity sheet contains some important background information, and asks the students to design a balloon powered car that will be faster than all of the other students' cars. Students are given one day to write their predictions, brainstorm their designs, and start to build their prototype. On the second day, they finish their design and do their first set of trials. At this point students are allowed to analyze their designs and make appropriate changes to their car. On the third day, students finish up their final trials and begin their conclusions (Homework if not completed).
This activity gives the students practice with inquiry activities, and teaches them about appropriate scientific writing. On top of scientific thinking, and writing, students will learn the fundamental ideas about forces and Newton's laws of motion through manipulations on their cars. Because this is the first time students are seeing this format, they will be graded a little less strictly. This lab is given 20 points. The prediction is given 6 points- 2 For each of the 3 required predictions. Each prediction should contain one variable, be logical, and have an explanation of reasoning. 3 Points are given for the analyzing data section. This contains two tables that represent the relationships between force, mass, and speed. Students are to refer to the tables in their writings, and explain the relationships between force, mass and speed in each table. 2 points are given for each of the results tables (4 total). Students must calculate their speeds and include units with their numbers. 2 Points are also given for students' explanations of the changes they made to their care and why they made them. Finally, 5 points are given for the conclusions. Students are required to restate the problem, reference their predictions and state their correctness, and explain what happened. Students are also required to provide data from their results tables to back up their reasoning. They should also include a concluding statement answering the question "What advice would I give to my younger brother/sister that had to perform this assignment in the future?". Points will be taken off for anythings missing from the requirements.
For my informal assessment, I am using an inquiry activity that I 'NeCaped' to give students practice with these types of assignments. This is the first time that the students are seeing this format, so they will need a lot of instruction on the format to perform successfully on this activity. The inquiry activity is given to the students at the beginning of the Forces unit. Before this point, students have to knowledge of this topic other than any prior knowledge they may have obtained. The activity sheet contains some important background information, and asks the students to design a balloon powered car that will be faster than all of the other students' cars. Students are given one day to write their predictions, brainstorm their designs, and start to build their prototype. On the second day, they finish their design and do their first set of trials. At this point students are allowed to analyze their designs and make appropriate changes to their car. On the third day, students finish up their final trials and begin their conclusions (Homework if not completed).
This activity gives the students practice with inquiry activities, and teaches them about appropriate scientific writing. On top of scientific thinking, and writing, students will learn the fundamental ideas about forces and Newton's laws of motion through manipulations on their cars. Because this is the first time students are seeing this format, they will be graded a little less strictly. This lab is given 20 points. The prediction is given 6 points- 2 For each of the 3 required predictions. Each prediction should contain one variable, be logical, and have an explanation of reasoning. 3 Points are given for the analyzing data section. This contains two tables that represent the relationships between force, mass, and speed. Students are to refer to the tables in their writings, and explain the relationships between force, mass and speed in each table. 2 points are given for each of the results tables (4 total). Students must calculate their speeds and include units with their numbers. 2 Points are also given for students' explanations of the changes they made to their care and why they made them. Finally, 5 points are given for the conclusions. Students are required to restate the problem, reference their predictions and state their correctness, and explain what happened. Students are also required to provide data from their results tables to back up their reasoning. They should also include a concluding statement answering the question "What advice would I give to my younger brother/sister that had to perform this assignment in the future?". Points will be taken off for anythings missing from the requirements.